Written in the Stars
by ALbf17
Summary: Takes place in "Haunted", when Suze has shifted back in time to 1850, but did not manage to travel back to her time. Now stuck in the past, will Jesse develope feelings for her once again? And what will be the consequences of Jesse's survival in both the past and future?
1. Chapter 1

**FANFIC- THE MEDIATOR**

Hello, lovely people. I haven't written in a long time, but I've risen from the dead and decided to do some more writing. Please feel free to give me some feedback or any questions regarding the story.

This story takes place during the 6th book, "Twilight", when Suze traveled to the past, to save the love of her life from being strangled or barbequed by Diego.

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this story is based on the books written by the one and only, Meg Cabot.**

Chapter 1

This must be a hallucination. It has to be. Or a really great and realistic dream. Perhaps hallucinating was a side effect of time traveling. I mean look at Paul's grandfather; the poor guy was almost a vegetable. No offense to him.

But what in the world was Jesse doing, sitting on a chair placed next to my bed, looking very much alive, and his younger sisters, ogling at me curiously as if I was an exotic species. This must be all wrong. Because last night, I traveled back to the future, holding Jesse and landing in my backyard. His body that was in some sort of coma, was at the hospital right now, or was supposed to. What was he doing here, staring at Suze, appearing to be nothing, but concerned?

Suze sat up a little too fast, which she realized was definitely a mistake when her head felt like it had been split open. But she didn't care. Something was definitely wrong.

"Hector, the girl you saved is not dead anymore," said a little girl with a strong Spanish accent. She must be Jesse's little sister. Same beautiful dark eyes and hair, with golden skin.

Jesse chuckles. "She never died, hermanita. She was unconscious for the past three days."

This couldn't be real at all. What the heck? And he why did he say that Suze was in a coma?

Impossible. Unreal. What was she still doing here, around 1850 or something, sitting in someone else's bed, in her own bedroom, which looked quite different right now.

"Wha-". Her voice was too coarse for her to finish her question. Rubbing her face, she felt like crying. The huge lump in her throat and the loops and hole in her memory were just signs of her exploding any minute.

Jesse, who must've noticed that Suze was having trouble accepting what had happened to her, shooed his sisters out of the room.

"Susannah. Are you alright?"

She looked up at him from her hands and starts laughing hysterically. Even now, after everything, he still calls her by her full name. He must have thought that she was crazy, but Suze couldn't tell because she was too busy switching from laughing like a madwoman to sobbing.

The doctor wanna-be that he is, he didn't freak out at her behavior and sat next to her on the bed, trying to comfort her. He even held the glass of water for her, while she greedily gulped down.

"It is natural for you to be scared like this, Susannah, but I'll explain everything to you." Oh, an explanation would be really great right now, considering that I am on the verge of my sanity.

It turns out that once the fire broke out, threatening to swallow Suze in, Jesse had rescued her, as she vaguely remembers, but she did not travel back to the future with him. No. Apparently he managed to get out with her safely, whilst coward Paul disappeared.

The worst part is that she had lost consciousness for some unexplainable reason and woke up after three days. It must have been the lack of oxygen back in the burning barn and the time traveling.

The best part?

She was probably going to get really sick, or weak, which she already was. Brain wiped clean of all brain cells and if she was lucky, alive. And that-that nasty Paul who had left her here, stranded and literally impossibly far away from her family and Jesse. Swearing under her breath shamelessly, she cursed him to the deepest depths in hell, with various diseases and a life time of loneliness.

Jesse, Alive Jesse, completely oblivious to the meaning of pretty much all the swearwords she kept on muttering, suggested that she should come downstairs to eat.

And for some reason, fact that she would never see or know of Jesse de Silva was something she had to accept seemed even worse to her right now.

Looking around, she realized that she was sitting in his bedroom. Well, her bedroom in the future. Or not, if she wasn't going back again.

Then it hit her. If she was in the condition to travel back to the future, what could hold her back? Yes, she would probably be spending her life in a wheel chair, but at least she was back with her family, where she belonged. Staying here in the nineteen hundred's century would possibly mess things up more than it already was. She had to regain her strength, even if it meant that she'd be spending some more time sleeping and eating.

Plus, she was hungry enough to eat fifty pies right now.

Feelings aside, she decided to put her time that she would be spending here into plotting her way back to the future.

The boarding house was pretty quiet, considering that at least more than nine people, including Jesse and his family, lived around here. She decided to stay inside the room to avoid more attention and trouble.

After taking a shower, which mainly consisted of a bucket and cold water, she changed into a dress, something that looked like the innocent and bright version of Maria's dresses.

On the little table near the window, Suze found a tray filled with bread, fruits and water. Considering how hungry she was though, she didn't feel like it would satisfy her, but she went ahead and stuffed the food in her mouth, keeping in mind that she'd ask Jesse, or Hector as they call him here, for more food.

"Susannah?" Jesse peered out from behind the door and allowed himself into his own room. Or my room-to-be. Suze patted the empty spot beside her, willing him to come and sit next to her. There were too many questions and too much to talk about. And since she had lost so much and was going to lose more, she decided to tell him the truth about everything.

"I have some confessions to make, Jes-I mean Hector. Since this is probably the last time I'll ever be seeing you or your ghost, I might as well tell you the truth. And everything that happened from the day I had first met your ghost."

A little guarded, he nodded bravely, as if he knew the truth was going to be difficult to handle. Suze didn't blame the poor guy. Hearing stories about your ghost who roams around in the future and makes friends with a mediator could be a little difficult to take in, right?

So she began with when they had met in her bedroom. Then the many times that he had saved her from psycho teenage ghosts and weirdoes who tricked their brothers into believing that they were vampires. And then how she fell in love with him.

"It's okay if you don't feel that way about me," assured Suze to guilty and confused-looking Jesse. Again, it must've been pretty hard to accept a story of your ghost falling in love in the future with a live person who could see and touch ghosts.

"No, it is believable, yet troubling to register. I had never imagined that I would ever come to feel that way about a girl. My future had been set with Maria." He had said his ex-fiancé's name with so much disgust, that it made Suze want to dance with joy. She always hated that she-devil.

Jesse continued listening patiently and quietly, never interrupting her, while she was telling him about the complications of the relationship. Eating her food at the same time, she must've appeared very lady-like. But this was important. It perhaps served as a closure to both of them. Although she possibly wouldn't remember him in the future (if she was ever going to make it back), it made her feel better right now.

Plus, considering that she came out of nowhere to save his life, he deserved a more thorough and truthful explanation of the reason behind their present situation. The idea of being stuck in the past still freaked her out though. She'd rather be battling ghosts right now, or even better, go back to living her life the way she had with her ghostly boyfriend by her side. God, how pathetic that sounded.

"I have to go back soon, Jesse. And I will not remember you anymore." The thought always hit her with so much sadness and emotion. A small tear managed to escape from her eye and Jesse leaned in, catching it with his index finger before it had a chance to roll down her cheek.

"Hector! Maria está aqui!" Jesse's youngest sister must've sprinted up the stairs because she was gasping for air while yelling something in Spanish at Jesse, after barging in on them.

Startled, Suze jumped away from him. It probably wouldn't end well if people had the wrong (or right) impression about them.

Suze heard the name "Maria". No need to know Spanish to know that trouble has arrived at the door step of the boarding house in the form of Jesse's dreadful ex-fiancé.

Groaning, Jesse got up and made his way downstairs. Had his sister not charged into the room like that, Suze might have received a kiss on forehead, which she had assumed she'd be receiving due to the caring and affectionate look on his face. What? She'd take what she could get. Even a simple kiss on the forehead.

Sneaking out of the room towards the staircase, Suze decided to eavesdrop, which was a pretty stupid idea considering that she didn't speak Spanish.

Luckily, his little sister stuck around, admiring Suze's "pretty" hair, which was probably going to turn into an afro, thanks to the lack of conditioner and the frizz that kept on building up on her head unstoppably.

"Could you translate what they are saying, please?"

Rosa, which turned out to be her name, after they had exchanged their names, was more than thrilled to do something for the pretty girl who rose from the dead.

Alrighty, thanks for reading! And please provide me with some feedback. If there are some inaccuracies with the real series, please let me know. Thanks again!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this story is based on the Mediator series written by the one and only, Meg Cabot.**

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**CHAPTER 2**

~~~{()}~~~

"_'What are you still doing here, Maria?'_" translated little Rosa for Suze. Having a female mini-version of Jesse admiring almost everything about Suze came quite in handy, especially at important times like this. Although her best friends, CeeCee and Adam, were usually

the ones by her side, she would take all the help she could get. Even from a six year-old.

"Maria and her whole family came to talk about the wedding of Hector and Maria," Rosa whispered in her ear, cautiousness displayed on her face.

It all made sense. With Jesse still in the picture, Maria was forced to marry him because her family name and pride were more important than someone's life. And because she could no longer marry Felix, leaving her with Jesse as her last resort.

Suze wasn't sure if Jesse had been better off roaming around as a ghost for the next 150 years, or being sentenced to a life-long marriage to the she-devil herself. What was the guarantee that she wouldn't poison his food, or something?

There was more chatter and shouts coming from downstairs. Although they were speaking in Spanish, Suze could recognize Jesse's frustration in his voice, as he went on arguing about something. The wedding, Suze assumed.

"What is Jes-I mean Hector saying?" Suze asked her politely. Rosa translated Jesse's arguments eagerly. He did not want to the marriage to go on because of Maria and Felix's secret relationship (duh), and Maria was fake weeping and complaining that Jesse was just

trying to ruin her name with these scandalous rumors he was making up so that he did not have to marry her. His counter-argument was that she had sent Felix after Jesse to get rid of him, which Maria kept on denying.

"Do you think that your bother has to marry her?"

"Yes. My parents have insisted on their marriage. They have to because…because…"

Even poor Rosa didn't seem to understand the reasoning behind all this.

"Because your parents want him to, right?" Suze says, and Rosa nods.

Suze didn't notice Jesse, who was storming up the stairs, which didn't leave enough time for her to hide and pretend that she didn't hear a word.

"S-sorry. I just wanted to hear what the uproar was all about." Suze attempted a sheepish smile, but was afraid that Jesse might lash out at her, the way he had yelled at Maria downstairs.

"It is alright. Come inside please, and I will explain it all to you."

Suze didn't bother to tell him that his "_hermanita_" had been translating most of the arguments that were being thrown around at one another, and sat down on the bed obediently.

He explained the entire argument from scratch, starting off with his parents being angry about Jesse ending their engagement without letting them know. They didn't seem to care about what had happened back in the barn with Felix because as far as they were

concerned, there wasn't a reason to proceed with the wedding. Jesse tried to argue with them that Maria did not even want to marry him, but huge crocodile tears were flowing down her cheeks and she exclaimed that there is no one else she wants to marry. Felix is

dead to her, and always was. _I'm sure._

"He's really dead? I thought that his neck snapped or something."

"No, he is not dead. He is in care right now, and not in the shape to intervene with the upcoming wedding." He almost sounded as if he wished that Felix would intervene.

Suze sympathized with him because marrying someone you can't stand, forget love, and should be pretty unpleasant. And knowing that he belonged with her instead of Maria, made Suze feel even more powerless. She still wished for things to go back the way they

were, but Jesse deserved his chance at life. He died at the age of 20, after all.

Sighing, Suze looked out of the window at the familiar water body that she had been looking out to ever since she had moved into this house, in her time.

_Not only am I stuck in the past, but I also get to witness my boyfriend getting married to the she-devil._

"Hey, Suze. Wake up!"

"Wha?" Sleepily, Suze at up and scanned the dark room for the person that woke her up with the loud and annoying whispers.

"Over here, Sleepy head."

Suze jumped up on her spot, completely shocked, to find friggen Paul to her right, crouched next to the bed, as if trying to avoid people from seeing him through the window. Or maybe that was exactly what he was trying to do.

The fact that he had the balls to face her after creating this mess just made her want to make that bastard suffer as much as possible. It was his fault after all that she was stuck here.

"What the hell is wrong with y-". Before she could finish yelling at him, he stuffed a handkerchief in her mouth. Déjà vu, much?

Muffled once again, the only sounds Suze could make were "hmm! Hmmmm!" She made a mental note to herself to perform some of her kick boxing moves on him, targeting his groin, of course. The least she could do after all the things he had done.

"Listen Suze. I'm honestly sorry about everything, but I only have five minutes to talk. Father D, your stupid ghostly boyfriend, my grandfather and I are working on finding a way to take you back to the future, without you having to suffer from the major side effects."

He chuckled nervously before he continued. "Apparently they mainly consist of a major loss of brain cells and parts of your body to become lame for the rest of your short life."

While he was talking, he made sure that Suze couldn't move by tying her hands up behind her back. Again. Fortunately for her, he hadn't tied her legs, so she managed to attempt kicking them his direction a few times, hoping she'd hit him hard enough to make him

cry. He dodged skillfully out of her way every time, and then pushed her down towards her bed, leaning his bodily weight against her. Wouldn't be the first time, right?

Knowing Paul, he was probably trying to steal one last kiss before leaving as he was leaning in towards her face, his breath touching her forehead, but instead reached under her pillow and pulled out the handkerchief that Jesse had given her earlier.

He held it up, waving it in front of her face, while squishing her with his weight.

"How pathetic, Suze. Missing your boyfriend even though he's here with you?" Mocking people seemed to be Paul's specialty.

Before he vanished, he chuckled darkly, taking the handkerchief with him.

"Susannah!" Jesse ran into her room, panting.

"HMM! HMMMMM!"

He held the container with a candle burning inside of it to her face, examining Paul's work, which Jesse must've recognized as well.

Swearing in Spanish under his breath, he removed the handkerchief, which was skillfully fashioned to make it impossible for Suze to talk or to spit it out, and untied her hands.

"It was stupid Paul again," Suze said, stating the obvious. Rubbing her hands, she explained her encounter with Paul.

"He knew that I was angry at him and that I would yell and try to hit him, so he made sure that I won't."

"Not much of a gentlemen, is he?" Jesse eyed the rope and handkerchief, cynically.

"Not even close."

Today, Suze was being welcomed by a zillion hugs from Jesse's sisters and cousins. Children really seemed to love visitors here. However, one thing she did not prepare herself for was meeting Jesse's parents, who were sitting downstairs.

His mother was quite a moody woman. Instead of greeting Suze, she scowled at the sight of her, and Suze recognized her as the lady who shooed her out of the house right after Suze appeared in 1850, in then-Jesse's bedroom.

"Hector, who is this girl?" Like his sisters, his mother has a very strong Spanish accent.

Jesse, who was leaning against the kitchen counter, explained to her that Suze was the girl that had rescued him from being murdered by Felix.

His mother scoffed as if she didn't buy the story. And unfortunately she didn't. She was one of those people that only heard what they wanted to hear. And an excuse to not marry Maria would be one example.

"Hector, mi hijo, what is this girl still doing here then, sleeping in your bed?"

**Hey! Hope you guys liked this chapter! Please don't forget to leave a review. :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this story is based on the Mediator series written by the one and only, Meg Cabot.**

**Hey, I'm sorry you guys. I also just noticed that all the breaks that I had left between the paragraphs don't friggen appear when I publish them online, so if the first two chapters were too confusing, I AM SO SORRY.**

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~~~{()}~~~

**CHAPTER 3**

The talk with Jesse's mother didn't really end the way Suze had expected, which was to be kicked out of the house, on her bum. Jesse's father, who unlike Mrs. de Silva, believed that Suze wasn't in the shape to go anywhere yet. And that was that. Gratefully, Suze

agreed to leave as soon as she was better. Just not the way they thought she would.

Another problem was Paul who said that the boys were looking for a solution to help her, but had not given her the chance to say anything at all. To ask about her family, about how Jesse was coping. Suze would be surprised if his ghost still even existed. It was a

matter of time by which Jesse's ghost would disappear.

Wedding arrangements were made and according to Donica ( Jesse's third youngest sister) Suze's boyfriend and Maria would be getting married in the church first, and then there would be a huge fiesta in the backyard. Ok, she didn't really word it out that way, but

that was how Suze understood the entire situation and whether anyone liked it or not, Jesse was her still boyfriend. He didn't seem abhorred one bit by the idea of her dating his ghost in the future. In fact, he was amazed.

Knowing that he kind of seemed to like the idea of Suze and him, even in 1850, made her heart flutter wildly. She might not really have him anymore, but she still had his heart either way.

"Susannah, will you be alright if I leave for a short while?" He asked before leaving. Like a real hubby. And then he looked pained. "I have to go for my fitting for my wedding attire."

Pleased, she giggled and assured him, "I'll be okay. Thanks for letting me know."

She added "have fun!" before he left and smiled bitterly, wishing that she could make him stay. Suze knows that she shouldn't, but all this was making her suffer equally. All she could do now was to leave a pleasant memory of herself for Jesse to remember before she

had to leave him forever.

...~~~...

"What do you mean, you don't ride horses anymore?"

Suze was cracking up about Jesse's bewilderment as to why people of the 21st century preferred cars over horses. He was so outraged that he even swore in Spanish, which made her laugh harder. After he returned from his fitting, he had spent the entire day with

Suze, reading to her from novels and asking her all kinds of questions about the future.

"I mean that we don't ride on horses anymore now that we have cars. It's pointless and cars are faster and more durable."

He appeared to be even more confused than before. He was almost as complicated as his ghost in the future, who didn't quite get Suze's logic sometimes.

"You had just told me that this form of transportation causes the air to be polluted. Why would one do that to the very air they breathe every single moment?"

She didn't have an answer to that. It made sense, but she was born into a world with all the luxuries to indulge in, such as cars, malls and computers. Being in 1850 made her really appreciate it all though. Taking a shower with a bucket wasn't really her ideal lifestyle.

"Did I ever ask you questions such as these in the future?" Somehow the conversations between the two of them had always led to "how were things between us". If Suze didn't know any better, Alive Jesse was starting to take interest in her. It gave her this feeling of

Déjà vu. Unlike with Paul, this feeling was really good. She missed it all so much and even the little things would be enough for her right now.

"All the time. You asked me about a lot of different kind of things. Just like right now. Always confused, wanting a better understanding of why I do this, or why the world is like this now."

Jesse looked quietly at her, as if to find the answers to his question by studying every detail of her face.

Feeling a bit self-conscious, Suze looked away from Jesse's dark eyes that had so much depth in them that she was afraid to fall in again and keep falling forever.

"Querida," Jesse started saying, but Suze interrupted him.

"And that is what you had been calling me the entire time that I had left with you."

...~~~...

Wide awake, Suze tried to remember how and when she had fallen asleep. All she did remember was bawling her eyes out on Jesse's shirt. Good thing that no one had walked in on them, as it usually happened around here and around anywhere else, pretty much.

Feeling her strength starting to return more and more these past three days, Suze decided that she was in good shape to go out for a walk. Jesse was nowhere to be seen in the boarding house and the rest on the family members and household were working on

preparations for the wedding.

Suze was practically invisible, in her old fashioned dress and her braided hair, which had been put together by Jesse's sisters who were fighting over Suze's "pretty, chocolate hair".

That was right before Jesse had come up to his/Suze's room to spend the rest of the day entertaining her.

"Why does Hector not marry Susannah señorita?" Asked Rosa, earning herself a smack from the oldest sister, whose name sounded like Ellen, but Suze wasn't too sure.

"He will marry Maria in three days. How can you say this, Rosa?"

"Hector and Susannah señorita look like they were made for each other," suggested Donica, who seemed to be siding with Rosa.

Suze didn't want to be any further trouble to the de Silva's and kept her mouth shut throughout the entire debate going on between the de Silva sisters, just in case Mrs. de Silva decided to pop in and check on the "lady of the evening". She probably still thought that

Suze and Jesse were having some kind of lust-based relationship back in his bedrooms. Mrs. de Silva was free to check up on them because all she would find is Suze being tortured by having to listen to Jesse read to her out loud from his books.

Making her way towards the woods, she intended not too go too far in, but enough to get away from the boarding house for now. Maybe bonding with nature could make it easier for her to travel back into the future. It was a stupid thought, but she had a gut feeling

that this was a good idea.

However, as she was deeper in the forest, she realized that she was not alone. There were voices in the background, all too familiar.

There was Maria's snobby sneer, and Felix's annoyingly deep voice, attempting to caress Maria with it.

"Oh my God," whispered Suze. She couldn't believe that after everything that had happened, Maria was still quitting on her secret agenda to marry the slave-runner dude.

"You have to stop this wedding, Felix. I cannot marry that-that…," she said a word in Spanish, which Suze assumed was a swearword.

"Look at me, _mi Amante_. I cannot attempt anything thanks to your _bastardo_ of a fiancée and what he did to me."

Suze, who was hiding behind the trees, squinted behind the leaves to see them a bit better. Felix really did not look like he was in any shape to meddle again, but considering the damage, he would soon be up for some revenge on Jesse.

"I have a plan, Felix. And it will not involve you to do anything, but I need your support."

"I am listening, Maria."

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**Hope you guys enjoyed it! Feel free to leave a _commentario _;D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this story is based on the Mediator series written by the one and only, Meg Cabot.**

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~~~{()}~~~

**CHAPTER 4**

Suze felt truly disgusted. Maria and Felix still wouldn't rest until Jesse was dead. And this cousin of his was the sick-minded person her Jesse was supposed to spend the

rest of his life with?

Determined to stop Maria's and Felix's latest diabolical plans, Suze kept quiet and herself hidden as she saw them walking off. Knowing their plan without them being aware

was Suze's leverage right now, since she could do some plotting of her own that will make sure that they will not succeed.

She could possibly use Rosa, Donica and Isabel's help right now, considering that the three of them were on Team Jesse-should-end-up-with-Suze.

However, once she was back from the woods, Suze still seemed to be invisible to the entire de Silva household and co. who were trying to turn the backyard (which is way

bigger than it will be in the future) a little more fiesta-looking. Not that it bothered her much. But why was Jesse walking past her, not even acknowledging her presence

without a nod or a even a quick glance?

Both shocked and disappointed, Suze walked back into the boarding house and decided to spend the rest of the day there instead, locked up in Jesse's bedroom. That way,

she was truly out of everyone's face.

Once there, she went back to sleep, too upset and tired to plot or do anything productive right now.

…~~~…

Suze felt that she had truly hit rock bottom because she was missing her old life, family and especially Jesse right now, and was missing him so much that she decided to read

one of his boring novels, which actually turned out to be surprisingly interesting considering that they were constructed to educate and not entertain.

It's kept her sane and occupied for the rest of the day, although she wished she could do something active. Like kick ghost butts. Strange as it sounded, she even missed that.

_See? I've truly hit rock bottom. _

The sun was starting to set, and Suze decided that she could not spend the night here anymore, surrounded by Jesse's belongings. She was so close to him, yet too far.

Once it started to get darker outside, it was easier for her to sneak out without getting caught and decided to leave promptly after the sun had set.

When it was finally getting darker outside, Suze decided that it was time to leave. She grabbed some stuff with her that she'd need while spending the night in the partially

burnt down barn house, while being accompanied by a cow or horse hopefully, who would probably be a little more welcoming than the rest of the de Silvas.

Thankfully her dress was darker than the usual ones she'd be given, so it would be harder to detect her.

Plus, she had a lot of experience sneaking outside in the dark, so really, no problemo.

…~~~…

"Susannah?"

Startled, Suze had almost dropped the little lamp with the small candle burning inside of it. It would've caused another fire in the barn house, which Suze noticed had been

cleaned up and taken care off pretty much. There was still a faint smell of it inside the barn house and the staircase leading upstairs had been closed up. And no cows or

horses. They were probably taken somewhere else, due to the temporary constructions going on in the barn house.

Suze placed the lamp safely on a shelf and turned to Jesse, who had his arms crossed, waiting for a legitimate answer as to why she'd be in the barn house this late.

"I can't sleep, so I decided to stay here for a while," she said, partially telling the truth. She really couldn't sleep, knowing that his crazy fiancée was out there plotting to kill

him and Jesse was just going along with the whole wedding preparation, ignoring Suze. But she did intend to spend the night here.

"Why are _you_ here?"

Jesse shrugged, but then told her that he was here for the same reason.

Ignoring the all-too familiar flutters in her tummy, she told him, "Come and sit. You can tell me what's bothering you."

Without having to be asked twice, Jesse sat next to her on the little mountain of hay that was placed conveniently right in front of one of the few windows that allowed them

to see all the stars in the night. It was sad that in the future, starry nights like these were so rare, thanks to the pollution and all the other causes (according to ghost Jesse).

Although she had hated Alive Jesse for shutting her out like this all day long, she couldn't help but sympathize with him, considering that he was just as stuck as she was.

Suze was stuck in the past, loving the same person she did in the future, but still missing Ghost Jesse who knew her and loved her back. And traveling back to the future did

not seem like a good idea now because the side effects were possibly very critical according to Paul. And what broke her heart the most, knew that she would never see him

or his ghost ever again. If she was lucky, she'd be able to remember everything from her time here, but that would be all she would be left with.

Jesse, on the other hand, had a life and dreams of his own that he wasn't allowed to live by or the way he wanted. His parents had laid out his life for him, not allowing him to

become a doctor, and he was forced to marry that cheating skank.

"I wonder…" Jesse asked softly, while staring at the stars, appearing to be very mesmerized by the sight of the blanket of shining stars laid out before them.

"Hmm?"

As if he had been reading her mind that was filled with worries, he asked about his ghost. In the future. If Suze would still be acquainted with him or if they would meet again,

later in the future. Perhaps she would, but things would've been much more complicated for them. There was no guarantee that he'd remember her or that she'd remember

him, so she didn't really know.

"There's a good chance that we'll never meet again," she answered quietly, willing herself not to cry. Suze looked away so that Jesse didn't have to see her like this;

pathetically in love with a person's dead ghost.

But she was happy that he would get his chance to live his life like a normal person and not floating around, stuck and not being able to move on. When Suze told him that, he

looked at her bewildered.

"Why did you not find a boy from your time to love? A boy who is alive and not a ghost?"

She didn't have to think too long about the right answer. "One can't really choose who they fall in love with."

Jesse sighed deeply, agreeing with her.

"It's going to be weird living life, feeling that something's always missing, if I won't remember you or meet you in the future ever again. If I do remember you, it will be

equally painful though and probably a bit confusing because I won't remember why I loved you."

Jesse looked at her again, shocked this time though.

"Are you leaving soon?" The desperation in his voice flattered Suze deeply, feeling that he was starting to perhaps develop some feelings of his own for Suze. Maybe their

connection was irrevocable and it didn't matter when or where, their connection would always bring them together.

Suze didn't entirely believe that, but she hoped for it to be this way from the very bottom of her heart. It would mean that they could be together, no matter how complicated

their circumstances were.

"I have to. The sooner the better. Paul and the others are trying to find a cure or a way to transfer me back safely into the future." Suze also explained the possible side

effects of it all.

"So why do you not stay here? We could find a place for you, and you can go on living here, without having to suffer from those terrible disabilities. You don't even have a

guarantee that this Paul can help you. He seems more like a menace, than a friend." Oh_, he's right about that_, thought Suze.

Suze laughed, although there was no humor to it all. "I'd rather go back and be disabled than stay here; far away from my family and watch the man I love getting married

to this skank that can't even spell properly. Either way, I'll feel pain, but at least I can make my family and friends happy by being with them."

"I understand how you feel, _Querida. _It is not easy for me to even accept a life marrying someone, but thinking about the girl from the future for the rest of my life. I do not

think that I will ever be able to forget you."

Did Suze just imagine all this, or was it real. She had heard Jesse talk to her like this so many times, but hearing it again made her feel as if they were falling in love with each

other all over again.

Jesse turned Suze's face lightly with his finger and looked deeply into her eyes, which were watering up with joy. _Ugh, not the right time for this_, thought Suze, afraid that

she'd bawl into his shirt all night again.

Although her tears were obstructing her view of Jesse's dark pool of eyes, she knew that his face was much closer and that he was leaning in. For some reason, Suze

wondered if this kiss would feel like a first kiss.

"Wow. Even in 1850, you love birds are inseparable."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this story is based on the Mediator series written by the one and only, Meg Cabot.**

_Soo...it has been a while since I've updated, aaand, you're probably wondering why I made this long-ass chapter a bit different from the others. Guess I just wanted to see how that would be going._

_Please lemme know if a chapter this long is too overwhelming, or if I should keep writing longer chapters. _

_Hope you guys enjoy it!_

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~~~{()}~~~

**CHAPTER 5**

Like Always, Paul's timing was super great. Considering that he liked to show up at night, disturbing someone's sleep was probably the diabolical intention he had. But Alive Jesse leaning in to kiss Suze must've taken him by surprise, which made Suze really happy. It

was the least that they could do to make Paul angry.

But Paul was here for business. Ignoring the dirty looks he was getting from both Suze and Jesse, he jumped right to the bullet and gave Suze a brief update.

"My stubborn grandfather, who finally decided that he can talk now, since someone's life is endangered which he feels partially responsible for, made me go his old research office and had me spending hours reading through every single piece of information available."

Then he smiled brilliantly. "I've also discovered a way to block ghosts out, but usually meant for people who aren't into dating ghosts."

"Yeah, yeah. Get to the point, Paul. What did they come up with? And how's Jesse?" The last question came out a little too desperately, but since Paul always had the tendency to leave before she'd have the opportunity to open her mouth, she had to ask now.

"He's sitting right next to you," answered Paul, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. But something in his expression told her that he was hiding something. "And right now, we're mainly planning. And experimenting on the human-sized lab rat of a hunk."

Suze couldn't get herself to resist rolling her eyes, even though Paul's appearance sort of calmed her a little, since it was giving her a little taste of normalcy from her old life.

Alive Jesse was very quiet, probably taking in the weirdness of his girlfriend-to-be discussing the well-being of his futuristic ghost with Paul, whom he perceived as an enemy, which he wasn't too far off, in Suze's opinion.

"Paul, stop playing games. Just tell me what is really going on, otherwise I'll find a way to make you regret it," threatened Suze, not caring how unlady-like it sounded.

"I'd like to see you try, stuck here in the past and still unable to shift back to the future."

Suze was suddenly really fed up now. Frustrated that this clown had a) interrupted an important moment between Jesse and her that she might never have again, b) Wouldn't tell her about ghost Jesse, and c) he was mocking her, knowing that she was in a completely

stranded situation, stuck in the past.

In an attempt to show him how frustrated and fed up she was, she starting crying uncontrollably.

"I was just kidding, Suze," said Paul helplessly. Suze wondered whether it was because he was afraid to get punched in the face by Jesse again, or because he genuinely really did feel bad.

Paul actually came forward and tried to comfort her.

"He told me to tell you that when I see you again that he loves you and misses you like crazy and all that other cheesy jazz," he said awkwardly. It almost sounded as if he was trying to recall a distant memory. Perhaps he just wanted to keep his jerk-act up, just to

make sure that Suze would not see his sensitive side, or something. That is if he had one.

Hearing that had made this evening so much better because she knew that her Jesse wasn't gone. She didn't know how and why, but for some reason, his ghost was still left behind. Maybe after he died later in his life, he still ended up not being able to move on.

Maybe Suze was the reason. Maybe things wouldn't have to end so horribly, and maybe best of all, they really were mean to be, no matter what.

Paul, however, seemed so weird. Something was wrong about the expression on his face.

"Is something wrong?"

"No…but why were you crying?" He had asked this question as if talking to himself. What the heck, Paul?

"What do you –"

"Oh, never mind, Simon. I just kind of blanked out." Still looking like he had just "blanked out", he chuckled and looked at Jesse. "This is so weird."

Then he got up, and was suddenly all business-like again. "I don't have much time, and we're working on a mix of Father Dominic's Holy water and religious rituals and my grandfather's wacko ancient Egyptian voodoo-crap. He asked me to bring this back."

Paul reached towards Suze's head with his right arm and without any warning, plucked a single strand of hair out of her head.

"OW! YOU JERK!"

"That is it. I am going to break your face, Bastardo." Jesse strode towards Paul who walked off like nothing had happened and looked back before saying, "Adios muchachos" and shifted away instantly.

Jesse swore colorfully in Spanish, as he always did upon any acquaintances with Paul. Wow. Even in the past these two hate each other.

"It's alright, Jesse. As twisted as it all seems, Paul is actually trying to help. Even if his approach is as graceful as a caveman's."

He turned towards her, and held her face in his hands, the familiarity of this gesture almost overwhelming her. "Querida, it is just that I cannot stand watching someone harm you like that. No. I cannot even accept the thought of it."

Was it just her, or was this Jesse becoming more and more like her Jesse from the future? They were the same person after, but he was treating her exactly the way he did in the future, not even concerned about his current situation of having to marry someone else.

They had to be very cautious as they walked back. Suze offered to walk alone, but Jesse insisted on taking her to her room because he did not want to give "predators" like Paul or Felix another chance to attack her in the middle of the night.

As wonderful as this evening had turned out to be, Suze couldn't help but think about Jesse's wedding. It wasn't fair that he was being forced to live with women he despised for the rest of his life. Not to mention that she was scheming to kill him. Again.

"I wish you could stay with me," said Suze, before realizing how inappropriate it sounded. Blushing deeply, she added quickly, "I didn't mean it like that. I'm just used to you staying in my room almost all the time when are or were a ghost. You would read books at

night sometimes and then laugh at some things you were reading and all the while you were protecting me…"

My babbling was interrupted by Jesse, but in a nice way. "Shh. Susannah. I know. It is what I would have done in that position. If I could watch over you all night without causing people to believe otherwise, I would."

Before leaving her to go back to bed, he gave her a warm kiss on her forehead. The sensation of his hot lips against her skin itself was so pulsating. And alive, not to mention.

...~~~...

After a pretty pleasant night of sleep, Suze was being forced out of bed by the one and only lovely Mrs. de Silva, whom for a strange moment, Suze thought of as her mother-in-law.

"You will help us today with the decor and set the tables up. The least you can do for staying with us, si?"

Suze wanted to add the fact that saving her son's life should have been enough of a reason for Suze to be able to stay at the boarding house, but she did not want to make things worse between Jesse's mother and her.

Plus, this would mean that she would be able to keep an eye on Maria, and to be around Jesse. Even if she could not talk to him, just being near him would prevent her from missing him.

Wearing something lighter today, in color that is, wasn't really helping her with all the heat. It was really hot out, and in 1850, it wasn't really common to be wearing shorts and tank tops, or at least even flip flops, so she was stuck sweating in the dress.

Working with one of the older de Silva sisters, she set up the tables, and they became friends very quickly. Clarissa, which is what turned out to be her name, enjoyed hair styling and offered to do Suze's hair for tomorrow. Maybe she had a decent hair conditioner on

her, which was the only reason she agreed to it because Suze wasn't really looking forward to attending Jesse's wedding.

She had actually been planning on watching from the outside, making sure to detect anything fishy and to jump in when it was time to stop whoever Maria had hired "to do the job".

"That is quite a beautiful design, _mi hija_."

"Oh no, Mama. It was Susannah's idea to put the flowers into the bowls filled with water."

For once, Mrs. de Silva actually looked friendly at Suze, giving her the hope that one day she might accept Suze as her son's girlfriend. Oh, who was she kidding? The term "girlfriend" seemed to be non-existent here, to begin with. Jesse found their future pre-marital

relationship very odd, when she had explained it all to him the other day.

As she was working on the next table, she felt a light touch on her waist. Suze didn't have to look around to see that it was Jesse, who passed her casually, carrying a box on his shoulder and holding it with his right arm.

Glancing at him as subtle as she could, her eyes met Jesse's, and she couldn't help but to smile a little. Luckily her hair served as a veil, even in its frizzy condition.

The backyard was starting to fill up with more people and it gave them the opportunity to talk, while 'putting up the decorations', when they really spend more time 'trying to figure out how to open the box together due how it had been closed complicatedly '.

"I could barely sleep last night. All I could think of was how a girl like you would fall in love with my ghost," said Jesse, keeping his deep (not to mention super-attractive) voice as low as possible, after they had both finally figured out as to how they should 'open the

box' that wasn't really closed.

"A girl like me?"

"Yes. Courageous, smart and, "he paused, waiting for Suze to meet his gaze, "incredibly beautiful." Now imagine all that in a Spanish accent.

Blushing, she blindly grabbed a few items for the box and walked towards one of the tables. She now saw that she was holding two little boxes that looked as if they had something expensive in them.

Not knowing what to do with them, she felt like an idiot and tried to think of something intelligent as quickly as possible. But of course as always, Jesse came to her rescue holding a white table cloth, for what she had just realized, was to be put on the table she was

standing next to, the very table Jesse and his new bride would sit at.

Suze helped Jesse to spread the table cloth evenly, never taking her eyes off of his.

"I think you should be taking this up to Maria now, Susannah," interrupted his mother, startling both Jesse and Suze. His mother handed her the two boxes, expression both stern and disapproving. So much for impressing her future mother-in-law.

...~~~...

Maria did not even seem to have noticed Suze. Probably too busy staring at her endless beauty to acknowledge anyone entering the room. A naked man could be running around, and Maria would still gaze back at her own reflection adoringly.

Suze put down the two boxes on the table next to the stool Maria was standing on to help check herself out and wanted to leave the room, but then a thought hit her. Maybe if she stuck around for a while, she would be able to eavesdrop on some more helpful

information.

And since the room was full with servants attending to Maria, Suze was able to pretend that she was just dusting the furniture, or something. Not like anyone would notice her anyways.

"I want you all to leave the room. Now! I must have a word with Eva."

Damn. So much for Suze's plans. But she did not back down so easily. As everyone was leaving the room as quickly as possible, Suze grabbed the cup on the table that had a little bit of tea left. Without hesitating for even one second, Suze dropped the cup nosily on

the floor.

"Who was that?" Maria's voice suddenly venomous. She slowly turned away from her image on the mirror to face Suze.

...~~~...

Yeah, meeting with one's own boyfriend's future wife is never really a very pleasant thing. Especially when they start screaming at you for something not that important. But apparently the cup was very precious, apparently having been part of an entire set that she

had received in honor of being related to the Spanish Royal family. I'm sure. That's why you're getting married to your cousin in his backyard.

Even if their backyard was bigger than a football field, Suze wasn't buying the I-am-from-royal-blood story.

After cleaning the pieces up and being further abused by the royal pain (ha ha), Suze hurried outside, and walked past Jesse, who looked at her worriedly.

She held his gaze, trying to tell him that something was wrong. Walking towards the barn house, she willed him to follow her. And sure enough, he did.

Although the situation didn't call for it, Jesse grabbed her hand and turned her to him. Then he led her gently against the wall, one arm against the wall, and the other hand stroking her chin.

"Jesse, I need to tell you something." And before he could say another thing, she blurted the whole encounter of Maria and Felix in the forest to her behavior in the fitting room, where Maria freaked out about a cup. Surely it would be easy to believe that plotting your

future husband's demise was not the usual behavior of brides-to-be.

"I knew that she was up to something. After the Felix tried to kill me in the barn, she would not even look at me. Not that she had ever done much so before. And why would she want to marry me after she had failed to kill me?"

So, convincing Jesse wasn't even a problem. But they had to come up with a plan.

"Is that why you were so cheerful today? Because you knew that the wedding wouldn't work out anyways?"

Jesse chuckled. "Yes. Also because I heard from my sisters that you will be with us today. But I had also heard some rumors about Felix trying to take revenge on me for everything that had happened."

"You're taking this very lightly," noted Suze grumpily. "And the rumors you heard are wrong. According to their conversation in the forest, Maria is planning on hiring an assassinator." A ninja with one of those colorful Mexican wrestling masks came to her mind, but she

was sure it would be a little more subtle. As shallow as Maria was, she obviously did not want to be caught trying to get rid of her future-hubby.

"Then we must outsmart Maria. Although that would not be too difficult."

A soft giggle startled both Jesse and Suze once again, but this time it was his little sister who was eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Rosa? What are you doing here?" Demanded Jesse, suddenly sounding a bit angry.

But Suze wasn't too worried about his sister, since she was rooting for Jesse and her, but rather what she saw outside the window.

Before Rosa had a chance to explain herself, Suze grabbed Rosa by her hand and quickly whispered to Jesse that they were going to have really unwanted company and that it was time to hide.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this story is based on the Mediator series written by the lovely Meg Cabot.**

* * *

Hey Fellow-Fanfictioners! I know, it took me forever to update, but here we are! I hope you guys enjoy it, and please don't forget to leave a comment. :D

* * *

~~~{()}~~~

**CHAPTER 6**

Well if it wasn't good old Maria again. Apparently her earlier rage about a freaken cup was completely gone now, considering the gigantic grin on her face. _Plotting to murder a_

_ fiancé you despise can bring a lot of joy, I guess. _

Maria was truly not one of the world's brightest people which she had proven by walking into a barn in the middle of the day and have a meeting with one of her servants,

whom Suze recognized from back during Maria's fitting. The servant lady had also dragged along a man who appeared to be the servant's husband from the looks of it.

Suze shifted uncomfortably under the hay, desperately making sure that she wasn't making a sound and that there were no dead flies anywhere near her.

"You will be hiding on the roof and aim your gun at Hector's chest. Make sure you don't do it when I'm standing close to _him_. I don't want you to accidentally shoot me."

Suze rolled her eyes, wanting to laugh at Maria's shallowness. The girl could only think about her own safety.

"Of course not, senorita Maria. I will make sure that he is by himself when I shoot at him," answered the skinny tall man obediently. He looked barely capable of such a job,

but Suze wasn't going to complain about that. At least now they knew whom they were up against.

Jesse, whose warm arm was touching Suze's, was completely still. She didn't know whether he was afraid that they'd succeed, or that he'd have the courage to climb on that

roof before the servant did and take care of him himself. The second option sounded a bit more like the Jesse she knew.

"Once he is shot, I will run towards him, crying and screaming. You will have to leave the place at once, or they will find you."

"Do not worry, Senorita. I will make sure to make my escape as fast as possible. My horse will be nearby for me to ride away immediately."

"Perfect. I will give you this as your advance reward." Maria handed what Suze assumed was a little sack of gold to the servant's husband and they left, one by one.

After the three of them were finally alone again, they slowly rose from underneath the hay and Jesse walked to the door quickly, making sure that there wasn't anyone around

and closed it shut.

"They can't do that to you, Hector!" Shouted little Rosa. Jesse tried to hush his little sister, who looked like she wanted to run after Maria and trip her or something. Sounded

so tempting, but they had focus on a plan for the wedding day tomorrow, aka, possibly-Jesse's-last-day-alive-. Again.

"This plan of hers sounds so ridiculous, Susannah. The man shooting at me will be caught right away and it will prove to my family that I was right all along. This cannot be

her big plan to be rid of me."

Suze shook her head. "Her original plan before that wasn't very genius either, and Diego had managed to strangle you in your sleep."

The whole incident seemed to just be a fact. Something she had once heard. Not something she believed had happened. Possibly because Jesse was standing in front of her,

alive.

Changes to her memory were taking place, and it added to Suze's already long list of worries. She really needed a vacation of all this, once everything was back to normal.

How was her family holding up? Was doc also helping out the guys with their plan to get Suze back without any major damage to her brain?

Rosa was now crying hysterically, obviously over the fear of losing her only brother. But it wasn't the only cry Suze heard. Something awful must have happened outside,

causing the uproar at a time like this.

"Jes- Hector, something is going on outside! Listen!"

Jesse looked up towards the window, but the uproar was coming from the other side. Taking Rosa's hand, Jesse led them outside, and Suze followed so that there would not

be any further suspicions caused between the two of them.

"Thief! I saw him creeping from behind the boarding house."

The boarding house, Suze had learned, really belonged to the O'Neils, good family friends of the de Silvas. They had offered to let the de Silvas celebrate the wedding there.

As they came closer to the enraged crowd, Suze quickly skimmed through all the bystanders to see if Maria was around, but appeared that she was probably in her room,

plotting a little more.

"What is going on here?" Demanded Jesse. Very alpha male behaviour Suze has seen from him lately. She had once read in an article of some magazine she couldn't really

recall, that men liked to act all macho in front of women they like.

Her flattery was interrupted by the sight of the person that everyone was huddled around.

"Paul? What the heck are you doing here?"

Held with from both arms by a bulky looking man with a mustache, Paul struggled to free himself. "Suze…" The bulky man must've had tightened his grip on Paul, who was

struggling even more now.

"You know this man?" Asked Mrs. de Silva bewildered. _Oh crap. _

All eyes on Suze, she tried to think of something to say. Luckily Jesse jumped in to give everyone an explanation. A good one, hopefully.

"He is the boy that was also there on the night Diego tried to kill me."

Suze sighed relieved.

"So he is a friend of yours, Hector?" A pudgy, short lady in a dress hoop skirt that made her look twice her size looked at Jesse questioningly.

To Suze's shock, he shook his head. "He wanted me dead, and had harmed Miss Susannah, aunt Elmira"

"Take him to the sheriff, Abelardo." Ordered Jesse's aunt.

"What? Are you people crazy? I didn't steal anything! Suze! Do something."

As gratifying as the sight of Paul being the one to be incapacitated was, he was here to help Suze, which made her want to help him out. But then she remembered that he

could just shift back into the future.

"You broke into the boarding house. According to Mrs. O'Neals, you are not an expected guest here, and all of the rooms available have been already taken by most of the

family. Take him away." Jesse's father surprised Susannah by speaking up. He was usually the quiet type.

"Suze, you don't get it. I'm going to be stuck here for a while. I can't go back," said Paul desperately.

"Susannah, what is this boy talking about?" Mrs. de Silva looked at Susannah disapprovingly, causing Suze to ignore what Paul had just told her and said "I'm not sure." Suze

just didn't like the idea of the mother of the guy she loved to detest her so much.

Paul was being dragged away by the 1850-version of Dwayne Johnson with a mustache. And more hair, not to mention.

Suze turned to Jesse quickly and whispered her new plan into his ear.

"I don't know what we would do without your two sisters." Suze whispered to Jesse, after he arrived exactly at the spot they had agreed to meet at. They were near the

woods, and the sounds of crickets and an owl hooting just felt creepier by the minute, considering that it was around 11 p.m.

His two youngest sisters had made sure to keep Mrs. de Silva as occupied as possible, by playing sick. This gave Suze a chance to escape, without having to worry about

receiving any disapproving looks from Jesse's mother and aunts.

Jesse smiled at her as he took her hand and led Suze a little further into the woods. The warms of his body near hers were probably the most comforting part about walking

into the woods in the middle of the night.

"I hid _Fernánda_ about three minutes from here. We'll ride to the sheriff's office there."

Luckily Jesse didn't complain about Suze wearing her jeans and leather jacket, which she was forced to hide under the bed, because from the sounds of it, there would be a lot

of walking to do. Not to mention ride a horse!

"We're riding a horse there?" Suze eyed the horse skeptically. That wasn't really the method of transportation she had expected, but then again, what was she to expect in

1850?

Jesse smiled at her challengingly. "Why, are you afraid, _Querida_?"

Fernánda, which turned out to be a horse, not a car, was a beautiful white horse with jealously problems. The horse didn't seem to like Suze, especially when she saw Jesse

holding Suze's hand.

"Wow. Even the horse is crazy about you." Jesse helped Suze down the horse. They had finally arrived at the sherrif's office, and if it weren't for that darn horse and her

stubbornness, they would've probably arrived earlier. Jesse literally had to sweet talk Fernánda into giving them a ride.

"You're making it sound as if there are many other's mad about me. Fernánda has become very vulnerable ever since she lost one of her children, so she doesn't trust many

humans." Said Jesse, not taking Suze's hand this time though.

They walked in quietly to the desk, where the sheriff was laying back, asleep.

"Damn, it took you guys long to get in," whispered Paul, who was behind the bars, on his knees.

"Sorry, we-…"

"SHH!" Interrupted Paul and gestured towards the sleeping guard.

Suze rolled her eyes and walked to Paul's cell, Jesse following her.

"I hope you guys brought some food. These bastards here wouldn't feed me crap." Paul complained. And he really didn't look well. His usually tanned skin was quite pale, and

there were bags under his blue eyes.

"Yeah, I smuggled some bread and cheese from the kitchen." Suze smiled apologetically at Jesse, who didn't even seem to mind about her stealing food from his family. Or

rather the O'Neils.

Paul took the food greedily and ate as he was explaining his situation. "I can't go back, or shift back for now. Today was supposed to be the last time I shifted, and I was

supposed to take you with me when I go back." Paul stuffed the last bite of his cheese with bread and swallowed it down his throat without even chewing it.

"My grandfather's research that I was going through actually contained a solution to this problem, which is for us to shift back at a specific time of the day. It's all

astronomical jazz and we have to wait for a day which on which the moon is visible as less than a half-moon. This is fortunately tomorrow. During that specific time period,

Father Dominic is going to try to connect with me," Paul paused for effect, and Suze raised her eyebrow. "Shifter-stuff. During the moment we are connected, you will have to

come with me, and we'll shift back. It's the safest time to travel through time, and Father Dominic will be reciting protection prayers."

"Wow. Quite a plan. But what about Jesse? We can't just leave him here in this mess."

Paul looked at Jesse as if he had seen him for the first time. "Who cares about _this _guy. We have ourselves to worry about."

"This guy happens to be my boyf- my friend, Paul. And seriously, how could you let someone you know die like that?"

"I don't know this Jesse-guy, Suze. So I actually don't have to care if your consort dies."

_Consort?_


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this story is based on the Mediator series written by the lovely Meg Cabot.**

* * *

~~~{()}~~~

**CHAPTER 7**

Something was definitely wrong. Every nerve in her body was alarming her of the horror and shock she would face once she allowed herself to believe _it_. Although Paul had always been a bit of a notorious liar, Suze found herself putting the puzzle pieces together mentally and finding him to be true for once.

_It's happening,_ thought Suze anxiously.

"Wait, Susannah. What is happening here? I don't understand." Jesse looked back and forth from Suze to Paul, catching on to the fact that there was something really wrong. Aside from his fiancé wanting to get rid of him. For good.

But Suze didn't know how to tell him the disastrous news.

"Look, Suze. I know you had this thing for a guy named Jesse, but I'm gonna be honest with you, recalling the name just gives me all that. I don't even remember what your boyfriend looked like. All I know is that this guy over here is trouble for the rest of us in the future."

But Paul wasn't the only one who was starting to lose large fractions of his memory.  
When thinking back, Suze could only remember major events of her and Jesse. How she first met him in her bedroom. Their first kiss. But she couldn't remember many things anymore. What had happened between meeting Jesse for the first time till she had realized that she had feelings for him?

"Paul. I get what is happening now. This here," Suze looks at Jesse, then back at Paul, "is Jesse. You guys used to hate each other, but I guess that is not important. Jesse was the ghost I fell in love with. This here is just the living version of him in 1850."

"1850." Paul's blue eyes widened as the realized where he was. The side effects of time traveling seemed to take effect quite fast. What if both him and Suze ended up being vegetables like Paul's grandfather?

"Maria, Jesse's fiancé is planning on killing Jesse. Again."

Paul nodded acknowledging, but seemed to have other worries on his mind. "Suze, I don't know what is going to happen in the future, but we have to get you back there. You don't belong here."

"Okay, but what about Jesse?" They were talking about Jesse as if he wasn't sitting right next to them, but truth was that Jesse was supposed to be a dead man. But Suze had grown to love life Jesse just as she had loved his ghost. She couldn't accept the idea of him dying again, despite all of the consequences. There had to be another way.

Scratching his head, Paul asked, "what about him?"

"We can't just leave him here! They're gonna kill him!" Suze didn't care if Paul didn't remember Jesse, let alone cared about his life, but Suze did. And she wasn't going to go back in the future, always feeling as if there was something she ought to have done.

"Maybe letting _him_ live was a mistake Suze. We should have just let him die in the first place. Too many changes are taking place already in the future, just coz' you don't want to let your boyfriend die."

Now Suze was really angry. Hadn't Paul tried to interfere in the first place, things would've probably not changed at all. "DON'T YOU DARE BLAME THIS ON ME, YOU A-…"

"Shhh…you might wak-…" Paul looked up quickly and his blue eyes widened instantly.

"What are you doing here?"

Suze stood up instantly to face the sheriff and said, "if you were doing your job instead of sleeping, we wouldn't be _here._" Hands on her hips, Suze wanted to show him that she didn't feel intimidated by the sheriff, since she didn't do anything wrong. And was still angry about Paul's pig-headedness.

The sheriff chuckled. "Well, I guess you got me there. As for you, Mr. de Silva, weren't you the one who put this lad behind the bars? Change of heart, huh?"

"We came here to investigate as to why he came to the O'Neils property and I might have made a mistake earlier. He had actually come to warn me about something."

"And what would that be, Mr. de Silva?" While they were discussing the issue with Paul, Suze's eyes wandered to the little red satchel of gold that was hanging on the side of the Sheriff's. Kinda similar-looking to the one Maria had given to her servants, aka Jesse's future assassinator.

"Uhmm, Hector, I think that we should leave. Your mother is probably going to be worried about you because you need your night's sleep before your big day tomorrow."

Yes, that was the lamest thing she could come up with, but she managed to convey the real message through her eyes and facial expression, which screamed 'DANGER'.

"Yes. I did promise I'd be back as soon as possible. I am afraid I might not be able to stay, Sir." He handed the sheriff bail money that would allow Paul to leave tomorrow morning and turned away from the sheriff, taking Suze's hand as they walked out.

"But-…"

"I'm almost positive that this guy works for Maria. Didn't you see what she had given the other dude earlier?"

Jesse looked lost for a moment, but that wasn't unusual since Suze always lost him at words like "dude", or "skank" (most commonly used for Maria) didn't mean anything to him. But he also seemed a little distracted. Perhaps the whole the-future-is-in-danger-coz-we-were-dumb-enough-to-save-Jesse talk had him more worried than the fact that tomorrow wasn't only his wedding day, but also his last day (if Maria and co. succeeded).

After dropping Fernánda off at the barn house, Jesse and Suze walked back to the boarding house, lingering a little as they arrived closer. There was no way Suze would be able to get sleep with that many worries filling her mind.

"Jesse, are you alright?"

He had grown very quiet since they had left the sheriff's office and didn't seem to acknowledge Suze's presence much, except that he was holding her hand.

Suze looked at the moist grass they were walking on, trying to think of ways to cheer him up. Tell him of her new plan, which she hadn't thought of yet, but could improvise as she told him about it. Or not. Sighing, she looked up.

It seemed to Suze that Jesse must've hit rock bottom because he was taking a stroll with Suze, holding her hand, one night before his wedding to his cousin and aware that his mother who was sitting on the porch could see them.

"Hector! Let go of her hand!" Mrs. de Silva also muttered something in Spanish, probably something like 'how could you?'

And so he did, but only so that he could walk towards his mother and cry at her feet.

"I should have died, mother. That day in the barn," Suze could hear him say. Never in her life had she seen Jesse weep, but then again, maybe he had and she just couldn't remember.

His mother's demeanor changed almost instantly, and she was now trying to comfort her distressed son. "What are you saying son?"

"The day in the barn, when I had saved Susannah, was the day Maria's lover was supposed to kill me, but Susannah had come to warn me to prevent my death. But now there are consequences in the future people must live with because the past had been altered," explained Jesse, no longer sobbing, but it was still obvious that he was upset.

"Go get some sleep son. I do not understand what you are talking about, but I can assure you a night's sleep will make you feel better. We will talk to your father about this matter in the morning. I had noticed something strange in Maria's behaviour ealier today." Mrs. de Silva kissed him on the forehead, and nodded at Suze before she turned to the door and walked outside.

"Jesse." Suze sat next to him and tried to comfort him. Stroking his neck and hair, she thought about how this might be the last time she'd ever be this close to Jesse again.

"Susannah, I do not know what to do anymore. I wish we could have met under different circumstances. Less complicated ones like this right now, or in the future with my ghost."

At this, Susannah found herself chuckling, even as tears were falling down her cheek. She had thought that being with Jesse in the future was complicated. But this was even more complicated. In her time, she didn't have to worry about anyone killing her boyfriend. Then again, people did try to get rid of him through exorcism before.

"Me too. Jesse?"

"Hmm?" He buried his face in her hair, which she had conveniently left open, much to his mother's dismay, who preferred to see Suze's hair tied up or braided.

"I'm scared for us. I don't know what we're going to do tomorrow. Maria is trying to kill you and there is a mess in the future." Suze was sobbing now. Everything seemed disastrous to her right now. What if she wasn't ever going back to the future? And Maria has succeeded with her malicious plan? What will she do then, unable to shift back to the future?

"Susannah, I am afraid too. However, at least I had a chance to know what it is like to love before I die."

Suze sobbed harder at hearing this. Forget a relationship with Jesse. Them surviving tomorrow seemed completely unclear. She was going to vanish and no longer exist, and Jesse? She didn't even know.

Suze gasped as she suddenly came up with an idea. An idea to prevent it all from happening. Or rather to undo what was done…

"It is rather quite odd that a man of _honour_ like you, Hector, would be with that meddling girl, the night before your wedding."

They didn't even have to turn around to see who it was. Or rather didn't get a chance because Suze first felt a sharp pain in her head, and then everything went black.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this story is based on the Mediator series written by the lovely Meg Cabot. **

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Author's note: Hey guys! Has been a while and I've been pressuring myself to hurry up with the updates, but you know, life keeps one quite busy these days. Also, thanks for all the great reviews and support! Made my week! 3

Hope y'all enjoy this one!

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~~~{()}~~~

CHAPTER 8

Suze awoke instantly as water was being thrown into her face.

"Wake up, girl," said a menacing voice that could not have belonged to anyone other than the slave runner, Diego himself.

Gasping for air and blinking her eyes several times, it was confirmed to her that it really was Diego. The bastard just sat in front of her, waiting for her to wake up and realize that she is all tied up. Must be a good laugh.

"Do not worry. I have tied it so hard that you will not be able to escape," he said as Suze was struggling to free herself. Hands tied behind her back, she knew it was useless, but worth a try anyways. Or not.

"Where's Jes-…" Suze stopped at the sight of Jesse, tied up in a corner with blood running down his face. There was a big wound on his forehead, still fresh with blood. Cursing, she tried to shift her body towards Jesse, but Diego had tied to her to a friggen pole.

Diego stood up, pacing around the room before turning to her to speak. "The sheriff had done quite a splendid job notifying me of my friend who was sitting in jail because of Hector who had put him there. Obviously since he had helped me to locate Hector once, you two had him arrested to keep him from helping me again."

Confused, Suze tried to remember who else she had seen back in the sheriff's office. Only Paul. _Wait, Paul? _

"Oh yes, now you remember it, right? Smart fellow that he is, he told me that both of you had come to speak to him to find out why he had tried to spy on you during the wedding preparations."

Suze tried to look as nonchalant as possible to hide her relief. Diego, who had been tipped off about where Jesse was on the night in the barn house, was under the impression that Suze and Paul didn't know each other. And that Paul was a bad guy like Diego himself.

As arrogantly as possible, she nodded, to give him the impression that she knew exactly what Paul had supposedly talked to them about earlier back in the sheriff's office.

"But has he told you about his plan to kidnap you after I have killed Hector?"

Paul kidnapping her wasn't surprising at all. Even though it was a lie, it wasn't a shocking one. Shocking was the realization that Diego was perhaps planning on killing Jesse now. Maybe even right in front of her.

Diego chuckled darkly, probably having misread the panic that had spread across her face. Suze had to keep him talking, or to change his mind to kill Jesse later, or rather attempt, since Paul was supposed to be released in the morning, ironically right before the wedding. Surely, he'd get them both out of here.

"Well, I have some bad news for you, Diego. Paul is my partner. We're both mediators, and the reason Paul had helped you find Jesse wasn't because he wanted Jesse dead. He did it to mislead you. And you fell for it."

She knew it was pointless to tell him all this. He would try to stop Paul in the morning, but Suze had to distract Diego until she could come up with a better plan to get them both out of here. Stalling was the best thing she could think of. By the time the sun would rise, surely someone in his family would start looking for Jesse and find them both, wherever they were.

"You are lying."

"I'm not. What Paul had really told us is that he is going to warn and tell everyone in Hector's family that it was you and Maria who had killed him."

"That does not prove anything, silly girl." He looked quite convinced for someone who wasn't falling for lies so easily. Diego was so gullible, it completely worked to her advantage. Suze didn't blame him. After all, attempting to murder someone for the second time required a flawless plan. And trusting a stranger like Paul is a big mistake.

So to prove to him that she really was a mediator who traveled back in time to warn Jesse, she told Diego everything she knew about Maria and Diego and their plans.

This time it was Diego's turn to be shocked, to Suze's surprise. Man, they got Diego bad. He totally fell for Paul's plausible lies. And for Suze's stretch of the possible truth.

He got up instantly, leaving Suze puzzled, and called for his men. Or fellow slave-runners.

Oh no. They are probably going to try and kill Paul.

This was becoming more and more disastrous. Not to mention her drowsiness and major headache which were keeping her from thinking properly. This wasn't time to panic. It was time to plot. And try to break free from these damned ropes. She really had to start carrying a pocket knife with her, or something. Not the first time she was all tied up like this.

Looking around the room, which appeared to be a horse stall, she couldn't see anything within her reach that she could utilize to break free. Even if she did, it would be impossible to reach it.

"Suze!"

Suze looked around frantically to see where the whisper came from. Unlike her, Jesse was still unconscious and his mouth taped. Diego had left in such haste that he had forgotten to tape her mouth.

"Over here," whispered Paul who had made it next to her. No wonder Diego had looked so freaked out. He knew that Paul was released right away and probably afraid that Paul would rattle Diego's plan out to the de Silvas. Or sabotage his and Maria's plan, like he was doing right now by being here.

"Paul? You made it!" This was probably the first time, or so, that she had been this glad to see Paul. Hopefully. Her memory wasn't very reliable right now.

"Hey. Take this."

He untied her and gave her some water and food he had brought along. Eyeing Paul suspiciously, she took the water flask and drank from it.

"You're gonna need as much energy as possible for what we have to do tomorrow. I know that this is going to be difficult for you, Suze, but we have to shift back to the future. If we don't, things are going to get even messier."

"Okay."

Suze was done arguing about this. There was nothing she could do, and her foggy mind wouldn't allow her to think this over rationally. All she could think of was leaving this mess before Suze and Paul perished. Soon they would no longer be of existence in the future.

"Father Dominic has given me a specific time during which he wants to connect with us and we will try to shift back into the future, with as little consequence to our health as possible. We'll have to shift at once through the same time portal because according to my grandpa, we Mediators are a little stronger when together."

"Why are you doing all this, Paul?" Tired as she was, she needed some comfort. She knew that he was guilty about this whole situation, but Suze had made the choice to follow him all along.

Playing with what looked like leaves sticking out of a bag he had brought along, he thought of an answer. A little too long though. Seemed as if he wasn't the only one having trouble thinking.

"Like you, I wouldn't be able to go on with my life, knowing that someone I used to know suffered before she perished. And you aren't just someone, Suze. You're also my friend."

Suze was relieved that he finally saw her as a friend. Not someone he wanted because he couldn't have her.

Handing her herbal leaves that smelled like peppermint and a lot of other things, he told her to chew on each one of them, and he showed her which ones she could ingest, in which ones were only for chewing or enhaling the strong scents.

The fogginess in her mind was starting to disappear. And apparently so was Paul's, considering how his focus suddenly seemed to have sharpened.

Grateful, she decided to get to plotting right away. The only problem was her emotinal barrier now.

Looking at Jesse, Suze finds herself wanting to be near him once more before she was going to be separated from him for good.

"I understand how you feel about him, Suze. But think about it. It's for the best. I'm not the one to talk, really, but we need to cut this guy a break. We've invaded his life and now we're also ruining our own future."

Despaired yet understanding, Suze didn't want to agree with Paul. Jesse was too precious to her. And she knew everything Paul kept reminding her over and over. "But I can't just leave him behind and let him die, Paul."

"Look Suze. If you guys are meant to be, then time and location isn't going to be something that will get between you. Maybe you guys will keep finding each other."

A tear escaped as she laughed at what Paul had said. "Sitting in jail has made you soft Paul."

"Yeah. That and all the trouble I've caused. I have a chance to fix it, so I will take it. Plus, all these headaches must be contributing to my change of attitude. I'm really not myself these past few days." Scratching his head, he focused frustrated at the ground, as if it would open and hand him over the answer to his troubles.

"Did you hear that?" Asked Suze as she was about to sit next to Jesse.

Paul looked up alarmingly and grabbed the ropes that he had untied from Suze. "Get back here. I'm going to have to tie you up again. I'll sneak out and keep watch for when they try to kill either one of you. As soon as the sun rises, Suze, we have to shift, got it? It's our only time," he whispered frantically. The hoof steps were getting louder.

"Why sunrise?"

"Because our minds are at its sharpest then. I will try to summon enough strength to let Father D know it's time to shift through telepathy. I don't know if it'll be strong enough, but we have to try anyways."

Telepathy, huh. So being a mediator was not limited by shifting and being able to see and communicate with ghosts.

"Alright. Now take care of yourselves, okay?"

As soon as Paul climbed out of the window and ran into the woods, Suze braced herself for what was going to happen next. She would have to stall Diego until sunrise so that they could carry out Paul's plan, which she wasn't too clear on, but decided to trust him. He showed more genuine just now more than he ever had in his entire life.

Turns out that it was just one of Diego's pals who came to check up one Suze and Jesse. Suze glared irritated at the man with the mustache, but she didn't want to provoke him too much.

* * *

Jesse finally stirred awake after a while and just watched Suze silently for a while.

"He's right, you know," said Jesse quietly.

Surprised, Suze asked him if Jesse had heard their conversation.

"Some of it. I kept losing consciousness, but Querida, you must do what he said. If I die, then perhaps we'll meet again in the future. But if you perish now, then I do not know how we ever will."

This must've been the millionth time that Suze shed tears over this matter, but the pain couldn't seem to "perish", like she soon would if she didn't man up already.

Since she couldn't think of anything else to say, she just nodded.

"Susannah, I have felt dead inside ever since the accident. I felt as if I shouldn't have survived on that day. The only moments that kept me feeling alive inside was whenever I was with you. And I still do. I just don't feel like I belong here anymore."

And he didn't. Suze knew that. And hearing him say it all aloud gave her more strength. Whatever happened, Suze now knew that they would fall for each other again, because it happened twice now and she felt as if they were meant to be together.

As the tears were drying, Suze reluctantly drifted back to sleep and found herself dreaming about the first time she had met Jesse in her bedroom.

* * *

"Suze, wake up!"

Uncoordinated, Suze looked around and found herself no longer tied to the pole, but still in the same room with Jesse and Paul who were both sitting next to her.

"Querida, it is time now." For someone who knew he was supposed to die, he seemed very calm.

_Oh God. It's time…_

Paul handed her some more herb leaves to chew on and she felt a bit more awake, but it didn't calm the panic she was feeling.

"Wait, Paul. Where is Diego?"

"On his way Suze. Now or never. Come on, we gotta connect minds and notify Father D. that we're ready to go."

"Ready to go where?"

Paul looked at her darkly. "Back to when this mess had begun."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this story is based on the Mediator series written by the lovely Meg Cabot. **

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Hey! So I've changed my writing style a little by adding more dialogues, so I hope it's better than in the other chapters. Please let me know if there should be any changes made to my writing style (like more dialogues, or more discriptive adjectives, ect.)

Thanks!

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~~~{()}~~~

CHAPTER 8

Suze wasn't sure if she was just ready yet. She understood what Paul meant with by traveling to the time when Jesse's life turned into a complete mess. And the importance of it. But this was something they had to think over properly. Paul's plan was very sketchy and she didn't want to make any more mistakes. She was tired of making so many mistakes.

"Suze, you gotta be kidding me. You cannot be hesitating right now!" Paul seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack. "Just gimme your hand already and start focusing!"

"Paul, we have to think this over! What if we make this worse than now? We got ourselves into this mess because we didn't think it over."

"Igot us into this mess. And I have been thinking about this for the past couple of days, alright? Look, Suze. Maria wasn't going to hire an assassin to get rid of Mario Lopez over here. Trust me. According to Diego, they were trying to _exterminate _the whole family."

Jesse suddenly looked up at Paul. "What?" He asked sharply, fear and rage spreading on his face within seconds.

"Yeah man. They were gonna poison the food and kill you, your family. And Suze, as well."

_Wouldn't be the first time she'd tried to kill me,_ though Suze sourly.

Swearing colourfully in both English and Spanish, Jesse got up and turned his back on Suze and Paul. He was facing the window, exposing himself possibly to one of Diego's men. But Jesse was probably out of his head now. That _skank_ wanted to get rid of them all, after all.

"The least you can do for this guy you supposedly love is to just shift this instant, Suze. I got the signal from Father Dominic like five minutes ago."

"Okay. Let's do it." For Jesse. And his family.

But before Suze was about to start concentrating on shifting back, Jesse called her name out. "Wait, Susannah!"

"Now what?" Asked Paul, teeth gritted and let go of Suze's hand.

Jesse helped Suze up and held her face in his hands. "Whatever is going to happen from now, just remember, Querida, I will _always_ love you."

If the situation hadn't been so serious and urgent, she would've melted in Jesse's arms. She would have kissed him…

But before Jesse had the chance to lean in, Paul grabbed Suze's hand and before she knew it, she was ripped away from Jesse. Ripped away from this place.

The pain Suze was feeling was beyond reasonable. _What could have caused something this painful?_

When she sat up, Suze found that she was lying on a very familiar looking porch. And next to her was Paul who was drooling over his shirt, deeply asleep. Or unconscious.

"Paul," whispered Suze, shaking him frantically.

Suze tried hard to remember how she landed back home, lying on her porch with _Slater_ lying asleep next to her. There was an explanation to this. There had to be. She knew that. But she didn't know what. Or _who._

_Whatever is going to happen from now, just remember, Querida, I will always love you._

That was all she could remember about…yesterday? It couldn't have been Paul. Otherwise she would've known. This was really strange.

Even stranger was that these words were making her cry. Was it some ex-boyfriend of hers? Or was she remembering a line from a chick-flick? Probably not because she knew that those words were meant for her.

Paul, who was stirring next to her, stopped snoring and sat up at once. "Oww! Damn my head hurts. What are we doing here, Simon?" He looked around, disoriented for a while before lying down again. Apparently sleeping on her porch like a homeless person was a normal thing to do.

Suze wiped her tears away quickly and tried to search for her doorbell which seemed to be missing. Something looked a little different of her house.

"I don't know. My head hurts a lot too, but I think I'll manage."

"I don't think I can, though. I'm gonna nap for a little longer on…" he looked around once before he asked,"…your porch?"

"Wait, maybe my mom is home. She might let you sleep on the couch." But there was no freaken doorbell. Just one of those old door-knockers, or whatever they were called. Her parents must've done some re-decorating.

"Wait, Suze! What do you remember about yesterday?"

"Not much, really." She didn't feel like telling Paul about what she did remember.

_Whatever is going to happen from now, just remember, Querida, I will always love you._

"Oh crap. This isn't good. Suze hide now!"

Suze looked at him, flabbergasted, but the look on his face was overpoweringly alarming. _What could be so bad?_

"Try to run far from here, okay? I'm going to get some rest, you stay hidden. In the barn house, or something. Make sure no one finds you until I come, got it? I'll explain everything to you later, I promise."

So Suze started running. Without any further hesitation. Why? Not because of Paul, but a gut feeling told her that it was the wisest thing to do.

_ Wow, Paul was right. There is a barn house. But why? Was this another weird project of Andy's?_

As she walked towards it, she saw that the lights were on. Perhaps one of her family members was there, doing God-knows-what.

But once she was inside the barn house, she discovered with shock that there were horses in there. _Of course there are supposed to be horses in a barn house, but they were in California, for God's sake. Who still has barn houses with horses in them?_

The horses were asleep, lying on the floor in their stalls. But where would Suze hide?

"What are you doing here?"

Suze turned abruptly and faced a tall, tanned and ridiculously handsome guy, about nineteen years old. Hands crossed, he waited for a legit explanation.

_Whatever is going to happen from now, just remember, Querida, I will always love you."_

Suze gasped in shock. _Why did this guy in front of her sound like the voice of the person that had said that to her yesterday?_

And more importantly, was he someone she even knew?

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Please leave a review! :D


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this story is based on the Mediator series written by the lovely Meg Cabot.**

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~~~{()}~~~

CHAPTER 8

If life wasn't already strange enough without the whole mediator business Suze had to put up with pretty much every day, then what would her current state be considered? First, Slater snoozing on her doorstep, then the barn house that magically appeared several yards from her backyard, and then the acquaintance with an attractive young man who appeared so damn familiar.

Not what she would consider an average day in a mediator's life.

Helpless, Suze looked around the barn house, its familiarity causing her to feel even dizzier. The shelves, stalls and even the hay stacked on the floor made her feel as if some important part of her life had occurred here some time.

"I-I don't know. My friend told me to hide here from…something," she finally said, but not as confident as she should have. But the gut feeling telling her that something was wrong kept getting stronger and stronger.

The young guy, hair almost as dark as his eyes, gestured a very lightheaded Suze to sit on the little mountain of hay. Courteous as he was, he even offered her some water.

"Jesse." The name slipped out of her mouth, unexplainably, after she took a few sips from the water flask he had offered her.

Bewildered, he looked at her, studying her face warily before asking, "How do you know my name? I do not remember telling you anything like that."

For another strange reason, Suze knew other things about him. And she also knew that he would soon ask her if she had met any of his sisters, who were supposed to arrive to the boarding house in a few days for Jesse's marriage to someone…someone despicable.

"I know you."

"Appears like it, "he replied arrogantly. Perhaps it wasn't every day that he had girls randomly calling out his name. From his reaction, Suze could tell that he thought of her as a freak. Sadly, she felt like one.

But she had to reason with him. Make him understand that she knew him somehow. She had to find the blank pieces in her mind because in the back of her head, a part kept telling her that she was here for a reason. That Suze had a mission to fulfill.

"Listen, I know this is weird and all, but I feel as if we've had this meeting before. There is something so familiar about you. Your voice. Even your facial expressions." And something else. Something she couldn't get a grasp on because her heart seemed to remember something her mind didn't.

Although he was an undeniably handsome chump, she knew that there was something else. This inevitable pull, a longing that seemed to span from some time back. Maybe, this was what _soul mates_ felt when they met each other.

Unfortunately, he didn't seem to feel that way.

"I don't know who you are, and why you're here, but we need to get you some help. You look ill." The look on his face was rather stern for someone who attempted to be concerned.

_Ya see? Not something a person would say to their soul mate_, thought Suze disappointedly. Then another missing piece seemed to turn up though. "Did you say 'help'?"

"Yes," replied Jesse, his expression finally softening a little. "Why?"

"Now I remember. You wanted to become a doctor. But since you are the only son in your family, you have to take over the ranch…" Suze trailed off, puzzled at her knowledge of something so personal. But now she knew- there was something going on! This encounter wasn't random, and she could tell that this was a mediator mission.

But where were the ghosts?

Jesse, who knelt on the floor as they spoke, inched closer to her and grabbed her shoulders firmly. "How do you know that? How do you know such things about me?"

"Because we love or loved each other," she blurted out before she could stop herself. Ashamed and confused as to why she made such an allegation about a relationship with each other that neither of them knew about, she looked down, unable to look him into the eyes. Because when she had said it, she had _felt it _as well.

To her surprise, he let go of her arms and lifted her face with his finger under her chin, so that Suze would look into his eyes. Unable to avoid his gaze any longer, she looked up to see that he was studying her face intensely. He almost appeared desperate now to discover the truth. His eyes searched for something in her eyes.

"What is your name?" He asked, his voice suddenly very gentle and quiet.

"Susannah."

He repeated her name, softly, and Susannah closed her eyes. The sweetness of her name from his lips was so familiar, and she felt as though her heart that had felt like a desert minutes ago was finally quenched of its thirst.

But this moment was ruined by an ugly screech. Before Suze was able to register the whole situation properly, she saw a young woman she recognized as 'Maria' launching at them, a large knife in her hand.

"Suze, MOVE!" Paul was right behind Maria, and grabbed her arm before she was able to sink the knife into Jesse's back.

"How many more times? How many more times will you attempt to ruin me, stupid Mediator?" Screamed Maria, while Jesse helped Suze up and grabbed her hand to run past the now incapacitated Maria who was being held back by Paul.

_How many more times? Could this have happened before?_ Although Suze's memory of what had happened for the past several days or so was quite blurry and confusing, she was starting to the puzzle pieces back together mentally.

With the lack of remembrance, Suze had to rely on her gut feeling. And it was telling her that Jesse had to survive whatever was going to happen to them now. But someone was missing. The picture was still incomplete.

"Going somewhere?" And there was the person that completed the puzzle; Diego, who wanted to kill Jesse. How many more times would this happen? Wow, now Maria finally made some sense.

"Suze! We can't do this anymore! Grab my hand and let's shift!" Although she was unaware of where Paul thought they were going to shift to, Suze knew that she had to go home, and talk to her Ghost Jesse. Her parents. Doc. Father Dom. Paul's grandfather.

Feeling more hopeless than ever, Suze grabbed Paul's hand and concentrated on the day she had first transitioned to the past. The day this never-ending occurrence of saving Jesse began.

With a force much more painful than ever, Suze felt as if she was caught in a tornado, and landed at her porch, once again. But this time she didn't have a chance to look around to see what century she had arrived at before passing out…

"Suze!"

"Oh my God. I hope she's okay," sobbed a lady, her voice so close. And so familiar...

"Doctor, will she be…"

"…hope so, but we'll have to run some tests before…"

"Should we wait…"

There was silence for a moment. Or rather, she couldn't hear anything for a few seconds, any sound blocked out. The sounds and voices kept phasing in and out.

"Susannah, it's me, Jesse." She didn't have to open her eyes to recognize that voice. Not that she was able to anyway. Everything was coming back slowly.

Eyelids heavy from fatigue and exhaustion, she mustered as much strength as she could to say something. "Jesse?"

"Hun, she just said 'Jesse'," exclaimed her mother, who would even have been happy to hear 'Abraham Lincoln' or something, as long as it was a word or two.

"Is he here," whispered a younger voice that Suze recognized to be Doc's.

"Querida, please tell me you're alright. Anything," begged Jesse. Suze wanted to reach her hand out to find his face and stroke his cheek, but she couldn't move.

She had failed him. Twice. Or was it three times? "I-I'm sorry, Jesse. I messed up again," she suddenly sobbed, her eye lids finally allowing her to open up a few times. Suze kept sobbing uncontrollably, finally able to raise her shaky to hide her face in it.

"Suze, who's Jesse? Sweetheart, it's us." Suze's mom placed her hand on Suze's forehead, while her bed seemed to be in motion.

"Susannah." Jesse was sobbing now too, but it seemed to be more out of relief, rather than grief.

"Where is…" Suze sat up to look for…

"What is it, Sweety?" Asked Andy, who appeared to be the calmest. Of her family members, only her parents and doc were on walking next to her down the hallway while she was being transported somewhere. Her room, perhaps.

There was someone, someone Suze had with her when she came here. Was it Paul? But when she looked behind her, Paul was lying unconscious on a stretcher.

Ignorant of the fact that her parents couldn't see Jesse, Suze grabbed him by his shirt. "I took him, _you_, with me. Where's the body. Is he still alive?"

"Suze, are you talking about the boy that had passed out next to you? Is his name Jesse?" Apparently her mother took Suze's strange behaviour as something like post-traumatic stress, since she no longer seemed to be puzzled.

"Yes," replied Suze, as another stretcher was passing Suze's from an opposite direction. When she turned back to Jesse, she saw that he had disappeared.

"He was already dead before reaching the hospital."


	11. Final Chapter

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this story is based on the Mediator series written by the lovely Meg Cabot.**

~~~{()}~~~

**FINAL CHAPTER**

* * *

_This isn't supposed to get any worse_, thought Suze horrified.

"Paul is dead?" She cried, despite her dizziness that wasn't entirely from the speed the doctor, her family and friends were pushing the stretcher down the hall. What was their hurry anyways?

"No, hun. He's fine," assured her mother, who was starting to run out of breath from keeping up with the rest of them.

"Oh, thank God!" Relief flooded through her instantly.

"I thought you hate him." Suze hadn't even noticed her little step brother, which was a surprise, what with the orange hair and all.

"I do. But I don't won't him dead," she exclaimed. Looking up at Jesse, she asked, "Then who died?"

Suze never found the answer out though because everything was happening so fast.

"WATCH OUT!"

"Oh no, we're gonna cr-…"

BAM!

The last thing Suze remembered before everything went black was that they somehow collided with a stretcher coming from the opposite direction.

* * *

**2 WEEKS LATER**

It was nice to see that her porch that was usually abundant in decorations her mother had put up, looked exactly the way Suze had left it before she shifted to Jesse's time. Speaking of which…

"And? How does it feel to be alive again?"

Jesse, well and alive, took her hand in his. "Being with you? Worth living." And gave her one of his heart melting smiles. Life definitely _was_ worth living.

Turned out that the stretcher they had collided with was the one with Jesse's body. According to the doctors, Jesse had a Near-Death Experience after they had revived him.

Basically, when they collided, Jesse's ghost came in contact with his actual body and somehow managed to return into it. When they picked his 'dead' body up, the doctor was told by the other doctor that 'this man' could still be revived if they'd get him to the emergency room on time.

As impossible as it had all seemed, Suze now knew that they truly were meant to be. With her boyfriend who underwent what was considered an NDE and back in her life, again, she felt that she no longer had to worry about any more relationship complications.

"I'll miss Rosa and the rest of them." Suze sighed sadly.

She had known life differently during that time. Although it had all been a bit difficult sometimes, what with the lack of showers and proper hair products, it had been a rewarding experience. She got to know Jesse in so many different ways, through his family and himself.

"Me too, Querida. But after everything that happened, I feel as if I had a chance to be with them again for a while."

That's right. Jesse was able to remember _everything_, and was quite amused as to how they met for the 'first time' several times.

"Hey guys!" CeeCee waved excitedly from afar, holding Adam's hand. The two of them had visited her while she was in the hospital, but now that she was able to hug them properly, Suze was determined to tackle them to the ground.

"Hi!"

"Woah, easy there." Adam patted Suze's shoulder, while CeeCee hugged her tight enough to squeeze the life out of her. Of course, Suze did the same, knowing that she had to cherish any moment she'd get with her family and friends.

"Do you guys want to hang out at the coffee shop down the street for a while before watching a movie? I'd kill for a Frappuccino right now." CeeCee's her eyes glowing with excitement.

Suze looked up at Jesse questioningly. "Are you up for it?"

"Of course, Querida."

More blissful than ever, the crew of four headed to the closest coffee shop. Sunny and hot out, Suze's mood was more elevated by the minute and for a moment while holding Jesse's hand, she felt that her life had just begun. It didn't just end here because she had found the perfect guy. No. This was just the beginning, and they both had a chance to start building their lives and explore this world. Together.

- THE BEGINNING -

* * *

This is it, I guess. It's been fun to update the chapters and most importantly, to read all of your comments. Thanks for reading, commenting, favouriting and following me! :D

Ps. Don't forget to check my other stories out. Also, if you have any ideas or requests for me to start a new story, please comment, or message me. Thanks again!

-ALbf17


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